Bread and Butter
by Shinylane1.2
Summary: Beckett and Castle are on an undercover date to identify a killer. Over in the distance, Kate sees Josh, her recently ex-boyfriend. Castle decides to invade her space before realizing he's not exactly a great fighter... fluffy humor
1. Chapter 1

**New little story. This takes place after Josh and Kate break up. Kate and Rick are on an undercover dinner to see if they can find their killer. **

**Enjoy!  
**

"What does he look like again?" Castle asked, holding the menu over his face, hoping not to arouse suspicion.

"Castle, he's clear on the other side of the room, he can't hear you. Get that stupid menu away from you face." she laughed.

"Roger that." He whispered, placing the menu down.

"He's blonde, short with a snake tattoo on his left arm, and the doorman said he'd be wearing black slacks and an orange Beatle shirt." she said, "And he's right over there, we've established that already, remember." she replied.

"I can pretend we're Heat and Rook on a dangerous mission, can't I?"

"Whatever, but we are not reenacting page 105, I can tell you that right now." she raised an eyebrow and took a bite of her spaghetti.

"How can you eat when our lives are at stake?" he joked.

She rolled her eyes, "Because this is a restaurant, and people eat at restaurants, and since we're supposed to blend in, I suggest you eat too."

"Ey ey, Captain." he saluted, winking one eye and biting one side of his lip with a Popeye voice.

Just as she was about to take a sip of her wine, her eyes rested on a table not far from theirs. Her body stiffened as she saw who sat at the table, "Son of a bitch." She said softly, setting down her glass and holding the menu in front of her face.

"What?" Castle asked, copying menu trick and leaning in close to her face, "I thought you said we weren't supposed to do this." he whispered.

She shook her head.

"What is it?" he asked again.

"It's nothing, Castle." She answered, sitting upright and turning her attention back to her food, attempting not to make a scene.

Castle frowned, "That was not nothing, you just made a hypocrite of yourself and I demand to know why." he refused to break his stare at her, "Call it character research."

"It was nothing, I just thought I saw someone, but it ended up being nothing at all."

"Mhmm." He said sarcastically, "I totally believe you. Who'd you think you saw?"

She thought a moment, "Just someone from high school."

"Yeah?"

"Yup."

He pressed on, "Then why did you hide?"

She didn't have an answer for him, and her eyes went back to the table. Only this time, Castle saw where she had been looking, and he followed her gaze.

"Is that Josh?" he asked suddenly turning his head back to her.

"What?" looked back at him, "No!"

"It is, isn't it!" He laughed, now pointing to him.

"Castle stop!" she yelled in a whisper, slapping his pointing hand.

He laughed, "Didn't you guys break up?" even though he already knew the answer.

"Yeah, which means you should just shut up or he'll think we're on a date and that I'm just as shallow as you." she frowned.

"Why would he think that? Did you guys break up because of me?" he teased.

"Of course not," she scoffed unconvincingly. "But that doesn't mean he didn't commented on our little arrangement from time to time."

"Well, you should go tell him that we're not an item, would that make you happy?" he asked, tone more serious.

"No way! I think we should just go."

"What about our suspect?" his face looked saddened now as he discovered their undercover date may be coming to an end.

"Our orders weren't to stay here, they were to get a look at the guy, we can leave whenever we want to." she lifted her finger to indicate to the waiter that they were ready for the check.

"What about our lovely dinner, we haven't even eaten half of it yet." he wined.

"Oh brother, Castle, get a box and eat it later. Let's just get out of here."

"Oh fine." he moped, wiping the corners of his lips and standing up.

"Don't you dare say anything to him, or I swear I'll kill you." She threatened, point a dangerous finger at him.

He laughed, "You've already used that expression, and I already know you'd never kill me. What kind of superhero kills their plucky sidekick?"

"I'm serious, Castle, don't."

He shook his head, "I won't."

They stood up, tip toeing to the exit so that Josh wouldn't see them. They had almost reached it when...

"Kate!" she heard the familiar voice.

She turned, a fake smile plastered across her face, "Josh, hey!" she replied.

"Come over here!" He waved them over, and she hesitantly obeyed. "How are you Katie?" he asked, "This is my ex gf." he explained to the group of men sitting at the table with him.

"Hello." Kate greeted the other men.

Josh's eyes looked up at Castle, "And this is her partner, Richard Castle." He said with an unenthusiastic tone. The other men nodded. "So did you guys shack up, or something?"

Kate immediately shook her head, "Oh no, we're here under cover."

"I see," he turned back to the boys, "Kate's a homicide detective." The men looked her up and down, pig smile on their faces. She felt naucious, "That's good." He continued, "I never really saw you too as much more than partners. Detectives don't usually get together with second rate novelists." The other men laughed.

Kate frowned at him.

"Yeah, and we've seen what happens when smart detectives get together with cocky surgeons." Castle said under his breath.

"What was that?" Josh asked, his tone biting.

Castle smiled, "Oh, nothing, I was just saying that your lack of talent of saying anything witty is still low as it's aways."

Josh stood up, towering almost three inches above Castle, "Say that to my face." he spat.

"Why, has your hearing gone down with your sense of humor?" he asked.

"Castle..." Kate said in her authority voice, warning him.

"Don't waste my time, Castle, there'd only be two hits. Me hitting you and you hitting the floor." Josh gave a crooked smile.

"You didn't even make that up," Castle opposed, "That's from 'The Breakfast Club'!"

Josh shoved Castle shoulder sharply throwing the writer off balance.

Castle laughed, "That was a mistake."

"Why? Because you know I'm gonna beat the crap out of you?"

Caste shook his head, "Nope. Because of this." he threw his arm up at Josh's face with incredible force. But to his surprise, Josh had already hinted what was going to happen and had his defenses all set up. The first thing Castle felt, was a pain in his stomach, and the punch that he was sure would break Josh's face hit air. Then, he felt multiple pains in his face and saw fists flying. For a moment, he was unable to process if they were his of Josh's. Then he heard Beckett's voice.

"Josh, stop!" She yelled, and Castle saw her push Josh off of him.

He looked up, "That could've really hurt if you didn't hit like a girl." he smiled with tinted red teeth.

Josh grabbed his wrist and twisted it around his back, forcing his face on the table. "How's that, writer boy?" he asked.

"Let him go, Josh." Kate growled.

"Oohh... gross" Castle felt something mushy against his cheek, "My face is in the butter." he giggled drunkly.

It was a matter of seconds before Josh released Castle, and Castle struggled to regain his balance as he stood. Kate assisted him, grabbing his arm and walking him away.

"It was his fault, Kate." Josh said.

"Oh trust me, I know it is, but you sure didn't help." she answered, examining the writers bruises face as they exited the restaurant.

"Where are we going?" Castle asked as he realized Beckett was walking him, and he could sense she wasn't happy, "Are you taking me behind a Dairy Queen to kill me?" he guessed, half serious half joking.

"No, I'm taking you to my place to clean you up and show you how to fight like a real man." she replied.

He simply nodded and allowed her to buckle him up and drive him to her apartment.

**Like to see what happens next? I hope so.**

**I don't think Josh is that shallow, from the one meeting we met him he seemed rather nice, as did Demming. But since we don't know Josh that well, I decided to take a different approach on him.**

**I really hoped you all like it, thanks for reading. Please review, it'll let me know whether or not to continue.**

**Have a great day!**

**Much love,**

**Sarah**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you all for your reviews! they were sweet and funny :) I appreciate all of you who are reading this one!**

**Anyways, next chapter.**

They reached her apartment in only a few minutes. Kate helped him out of the car and guided him carefully into the elevator and through the hallways as a steady stream of blood leaked down his face.

"Ew, I can totally taste it." he gagged.

"You've said that over and over, Castle, don't worry I haven't forgotten." she snapped.

"But it tastes so _grooosssssss!" _He pouted.

"Maybe you'll remember that next time you try to play Captain America in front of my boyfriend who was formally a wrestler."

"Doctor motorcycle boy used to be a wrestler? That explains a lot..." she ignored him as she fished for her keys in her pocket. As she unlocked the door, Castle freely entered without permission, resting on the couch. "Okay, do your doctoring, I won't protest." he allowed.

She rolled her famous eye roll, closed the door and approached the kitchen. "Do you need a change of clothes?"

He glanced down at his once nice blue button up shirt, but now a streak of blood stained the front. "Yeah..."

"You left one of your night shirts here last week during the Breakford murder case, let me get that for you. You remember that, don't you? When you barged into my apartment because you were paranoid that someone would kill me... typical woman move, Castle."

"You didn't seem to be upset, in fact, you didn't even ask me to leave- you wanted my protection." he objected, glancing over his shoulder to see her reaction. She blushed a moment before heading to her room.

"Let me just get that shirt for you."

He smiled.

When she returned, she had his shirt, a bottle of peroxide and some gauze. "Okay, sit up." she demanded, setting the supplies on the coffee table.

"But I am frail and weak, detective, I am in need of assistance." he said dramatically, reaching his hand out for her to take it.

Instead, she grabbed his ear and pulled forward sharply.

"Ow! Ow! Apples, apples, apples!" he cried helplessly. "Let me go!"

"Not until you say it." she hid the smile that tugged at her lips.

"Say what?" he screamed.

"You know what, we practiced it at the precinct earlier today."

He paused, recalling the past events of the day until he remembered, "Never! I will never say it!"

She twisted it and squeezed tighter, "Really?"

"Okay fine! I'll say it!" He gave in, then spoke in a hushed whisper, "I'm your bitch."

"What, Castle? I'm having trouble hearing you."

"I'M YOUR BITCH! I'M YOUR BITCH!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.

At the sound of his wailing cat shelter, she could no longer hide her smile and a huge wave of laughter exploded. "Yes, you are." she let go.

She reached for the peroxide, pouring some of it on the gauze. "Okay now this is going the hurt, so be prepared." she warned.

He stopped her quickly, "You know, when I scraped my knee in 5th grade, my mom sang me a little song while she put on the peroxide." he said playfully, "So do you think you could sing one for me?" he asked, bitting his lower lip.

She cocked an eyebrow, "I don't think so, Castle." She brought the cloth up to his face, lightly dabbing the small gash on his left cheek.

"Ack..." he winced, drawing back quickly.

"I'm sorry, Castle." She apologized seeing the blood that still covered his face, "Maybe you'll remember this next time you pick a fight."

"Hey. He started it with the whole 'second rate novelist' thing. _And, _he pushed me first."

"Oh so I suppose that makes it okay to throw the first punch? Or at least try to..." she teased.

"Hell yes! I wasn't going to let him tarnish my honor like that."

"You honor?" she laughed, "Well from the looks of it, your honor has been more than tarnished." she replied, bringing the peroxide back up to his face.

He tightly closed his eyes and clenched his teeth as she cleaned over his war wounds. Josh hadn't hit Castle that many times, but he sure hit hard enough to the point that wherever Castle had been hit, there was a nasty break in his skin. Kate felt bad, knowing that Castle was trying to be impressive, although he failed quite miserably. Finally, when all of the blood was cleaned off, she took out her box of Band-Aids and began peeling one open.

"Aw, no Hello Kitty Band-Aids?" he joked.

She giggle, something only he was able to get her to do, and she could see he was pleased to have accomplished such a task.

After the Band-Aids were plastered on, she grabbed his jaw and forced it to the right and left, seeing the bruises on his cheekbone. "Okay, well your face is done."

"Am I still ruggedly handsome?"

She ignored him and stood up, extending her hand out to help him up from the couch. He smiled and took her hand gratefully, but when she tugged to help him up, he cringed and grabbed his stomach. "Woah there, you alright?" she asked, kneeling immediately back down.

Seeing her so concerned for him made his grin grow wider. So he played along, "I don't know, he got me a few times in the gut. I think maybe you should take a look at it."

Her eyes looked up at him and she tried to force her twinkling lips back into their stern position, "You've got to be kidding me." was all she said.

"Well, Beckett, there could be some serious bruising, maybe even a cracked rib." he explained.

She bit her lip, nodding before finally saying, "Okay, fine."

His eyes grew wide, like an excited little boy on Christmas, "Really?"

"I would hate to lose my shadow Monday morning due to respiratory failure from a cracked rib." it seemed a little extreme, but it was all she had. "But nobody is going to hear of this, not even Esposito or 'Honeymilk'." she demanded in that voice she saved strictly for suspects. Knowing full well that if he didn't obey, she'd kill him, Castle nodded. He watched her tastefully. "Just take off you shirt and let's get this over with." she said, scooting in closer for 'examination'. He gave her the most perverted smile she'd ever seen him give, causing her to roll her eyes, "Just do it."

He slowly began to unbutton his shirt, his eyes studying her face as he derobed. Kate's eyebrow furrowed as she could feel his eyes burning a hole through her. As he took off his shirt, his well defined muscles were clearly visible, and somewhat of six pack peaked through. His waxed skin was tan and healthy, better than Josh's. She would've never expected to see that from him. She cleared her throat, trying not to show her amazed look, although a blush poked through her face.

"Impressed, detective?" he asked, and when he looked up, it was obvious he could see straight through her.

Too embarrassed to reply, she cleared her throat again. She placed a hand on his stomach, examining the lesions. "Does this hurt?" she asked, lightly pressing on one of the bruises.

"Yeah." he said quietly.

"How 'bout here?" she asked, touching another part of his stomach.

"Cold hands..." he whispered, "and yes."

There was some definite bruising from where he'd been punched, and there were at least three purple sections of skin. Despite the minor contusions, she couldn't stop staring at his abs. She couldn't think of where he'd gotten the time to work out, he was with her most of the day. _Maybe he takes steroids._ She tried to convince herself of their fakeness.

"I don't take steroids, you know that." he informed, still watching her.

Once again, she cleared her throat, "Well, uhhmmm, it looks okay to me. I mean there's definitely some... bruises, but nothing other than-than that, I think you'll be okay."

"Thanks... Doctor Beckett." he teased as he grabbed the extra shirt she'd pulled out for him and he put it on. She was still kneeling as she tried to regain her composure. When she look up, he was standing above her with a hand to help her up. He pulled her up and they met eye to eye- hers to his deep sea blue ones and she was lost for a moment. But he brought her back to reality, "Doesn't sound as badass as Detective Beckett." he noted.

She swallowed, hiding her enjoyment, "Well brace yourself because bad ass Beckett is coming back."

He flex his eyebrows up in excitement, "Whatever do you mean? What happens now?"

She led him to the dining room where she'd neglected to add a table when she was decorating earlier that week. It was a perfect place for a quarrel, it even had a rug for padding. "This is where I teach you how to be less of a girl." she growled, holding her clenched fists in the air. "Put 'em up, Castle."

**Oh I do like writing comedies for these two- they're so cute!**

**I hope you guys liked this one, there is more on the way!**

**Please review and have a wonderful day... or night.**

**Lots o love**

**Sarah**


	3. Chapter 3

**Ah so it's been very long since I've updated this story. For those of you who live in cold areas know just how cold it can get. Where I live it got to -7 degrees which meant NO SCHOOL, but it also burst our pipes and flooded our basement, the only place we keep a computer. So I've been printing and typing school assignments in the library of our school but it blocks fanfiction so I couldn't update. But now, we've got it all figured out and here is the next chapters, I hope I haven't lost you all!**

**Anyways, enjoy!**

At first, Castle was unaware of what to do. He looked at the fists she was clenching tightly, and then allowed his eyes to travel up to her narrowed eyes.

He chuckled nervously, "You're kidding, right?" he asked, taking a few paces back.

Her fists remained level to his shoulders and her eyes had a strong intimidation to them. "Are ya afraid or something?" she teased.

He laughed again with fear and shook his head defiantly, "No way, why would I ever…" she cocked an eyebrow at him, "Scared as hell." He admitted, his face turning to a terrified shade of red.

She snickered a moment, but didn't allow him to stall for long, "C'mon, Castle, put 'em up."

He swallowed hard before putting his hands up to his face in defense. "Please be gentle with me, I've already been beaten up once today."

"Well let's make sure it doesn't happen again." She said, attacking him from the side. She threw her hand at the side of his head. He let out a high shrill as he saw her fists coming for his now bruised cheek. To her surprise, though, he dodged the blow with his wrist, knocking her slightly off balance.

"Woah…" he exhaled, surprised at his own strength.

"Have you _never_ done this before?" she scoffed.

He frowned at her, "What? I just dodged your hit! It was awesome!"

She rolled her eyes, "You could've totally attacked me just then, didn't you see?" he shook his head, "You blocked my hit but you also threw me off balance. I didn't have my hands to protect myself."

"Beckett, I'm not gonna hit you…" he laughed, dropping his hands to his side.

She gave him a half smile, "Bad move, Ricky." She took her right fist and slugged him right in the stomach before retreating back to her self defense position.

Castle screeched, stepping back to catch himself, "Ow!" he cried, holding his stomach.

"Any second thoughts about hitting a girl?" she asked, smiling.

"No, I really think you got me, Beckett." He sunk to his knees, still holding his stomach. He gave her a pained expression, "I think I'm gonna puke."

"Oh please, if you really think I'm gonna buy that." She remained her stance.

"Oh, ouch." He began to breath heavy, his hands trembling.

Her eyes widened as she realized she had hurt him, "I'm so sorry, Castle, I didn't think it was that hard." She rushed to his side, kneeling down in front of him. "Do want ice?" she asked, watching his face. His teeth were clenched together and his eyes shut from the pain.

"I just can't…. breath… very… well…" he gasped, and she began to panic.

"Let me get you water." She stood up, but he stopped her.

"Beckett…" he said softly and she turned to look at him.

He finally opened his eyes, "Bad move." He mocked softly before shooting up in the air and tackling her to the floor with his hands wrapped around her stomach. His strength was surprisingly forceful, and he was able to pick her up to where her feet were dangling from off the ground.

They crashed to the floor hard, Castle on top of Beckett who now felt the pain. She cringed, opening her eyes to see his smiling face inches from hers.

"Gotcha." He said, his hot breath brushing over her nose. "What was that you were saying about 'not buying it'? Looks like my mother's money towards acting lessons weren't a complete waste.

She closed her eyes, pausing for a moment before giggling at his remark. She could feel the rays of his grin beam down as he heard her laugh and she continued. "Funny…" she chortled. Suddenly, she sprung up, turning the tables on him. She took the palm of her hand and shoved him hard in the chest which pushed him off of her. Then, without his body over hers, she grabbed his left hand and twisted it behind his back, forcing his face into the carpet rug and pressing her knee hard into his back.

"Ouch…" he spoke with the little air she had granted him, "No fair, you have your cop training, I got nothing."

She dug her knee harder into his back, "Aha, Castle, you just won't admit that I'm better than you."

"Anything you can do I can do better." He jokingly sung. "I can do anything better than you."

"No you can't." she played along.

"Yes I can."

"Can you fight as well as Kate Beckett?" she challenged.

He paused for a moment, "Maybe…"

She raised her eyebrow before speaking sarcastically, "Hm. You're right, because you're totally winning right now."

"Wow, sarcasm. That's original." She hid her laughter but somehow he could still sense it was there, "Okay, fine. You win. Just let me up."

"Without a prize?" she asked, "The point of this game is to teach you not to fight like a 9 year old school girl. How will I get you to try if I don't get something every time I force you face first into the ground?"

He paused a moment for the effect, "I'll buy you a pony every time you win."

"Already have one." She joked.

"An island all to yourself?" he begged.

"Hmm, I wouldn't mind having someplace to escape when I get tired of the precinct." She pondered.

"Ow, okay, whatever you want, just let me up." He pleaded, "This is _way_ more painful than it looks."

"Ah! I know what I want. If I win the next three rounds, you have to resign as my partner, for good." She bit her lower lip, waiting for his reply.

He blinked, his face still pressed firmly against the rug and his arm twisted behind his back. "Okay. But if _I_ win, you have to stop making these deals that jeopardize our partnership. I love our partnership just as much as you." He teased.

"Oh, well Castle if I had known you hated our partnership, we could've stopped this a long time ago."

"See now that's just mean!" he cried playfully.

"Okay, deal." She agreed, "But fair warning, I have the right to beat the shit out of criminals," she bent down by his ear, exhaling so that her breath tickled his ear. Then, she spoke in a sultry whisper with her Russian accent, "and you've been a very bad boy, Ricky."

"Sexy…" he said softly, grinning slightly.

Kate then released her knee from the crevice of his back and let go of his wrist, allowing him to stand up. "For such a statuesque , you really know how to keep someone pinned down." He remarked, rubbing his back.

"Not everyone, Castle, just the weak ones."

"Ooh, SNAP!"

"Ready?"

He sighed deeply before nodding hesitantly. She made the first move, socking him lightly in the arm. Castle fell back in surprise, watching her in the split second it took her to put him in a headlock.

"Goodness, Castle, you just can't seem to figure this out, can you?" she laughing, grinding her knuckles across his head, ruffling his hair.

"You're not really teaching me anything, so how can I figure this out."

She shrugged, nodding slightly, "Okay fine." She released him, pushing him away, "So, if you want to sucker punch someone, you need a distraction. Like this-"  
She gazed at him in the eyes, seducing him so that his eyebrow raised and his mind began to wander into his usual fantasy. When she saw this, she knew that she had him underneath her four inch heels. "And this is right about the time I would suckerpunch you."

He shook his head a moment, shaking of his thoughts, "Oh yeah, I um... I see how that works now." He stuttered, licking his lips.

She rolled her eyes, "And if I was to put you in a headlock, I'd do it like this, just wathc. Slowly, she grabbed his wrist and twisted it behind his back so he could understand the technique. "And then I would do this." she took the lock of her elbow and wrapped it around his neck, pulling him into a close embrace.

"Awesome, he exhaled and she could hear his smile.

She let him go and he straightened up again, watching her. They stood there a moment in an awkwatd silence. It was strange since seconds ago they had been teasing each other, and physically fighting. But now, they were just standing there staring at one another- and that silence seemed to tell so much about them. It was almost like a movie, she thought to herself as they stood there, and as they moved in slowly together, each cocking their heads to the opposite side, still saying nothing.

They had gotten close, not close enough, but close when there was a loud, sloppy knock which startled them both.

Kate waited a moment before responding to the one on the other side of the door, "Who is it?" she shouted.

"Iz Joshhhhh!" came a drunk reply. She looked up at Castle with a surprised look and he returned the exact same expression. "I wanna see ya, Katieee!"

"Surprise, surprise." Castle gave her a small smile.

**I hope everyone liked this chapter. I'll only have one more after this.**

**And now, I am off to watch the Oscars!**

**Oh yeah! And I can't wait to see tomorrows episode! The sneak peeks are killer!**

**Anyways, have a great day and much love to you all.**

**~Sarah**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks for da reviews peeps!**

**Enjoy!**

Kate listened a moment even though Castle's smiling face encouraged her to open the door.

"I''l protect you." he teased. Although something about the way he said it comforted her. Like she could really trust him to keep her safe if need be. Even though she didn't need him now, Josh was simply intoxicated which she'd dealt with before. Still, she liked the way it had sounded when he'd said it.

"Just stay here." she ordered, placing the palm of her hand on his chest to stop him from walking with her, like she always did when telling him to stay.

"Oh a secret sparring session, I like it." He bantered.

She was at the door now, her hand on the door handle, "Shhh..."

"Katie, baby..." Josh started as she opened the door. "I was thinking, why did we every break up? We were perfect together." The smell of his breath alone caused her to step back as he invited himself into the apartment, stabling himself on the doorframe.

"Josh I think you should go." She suggested, blocking his path from coming in any further, "Why are you even here?"

"For you, I want you back. Why did you break up with me? Was it because of Writer Boy? 'Cause I can be just as charming as he can."

"You know why we broke up, Josh now please just leave. I'm busy." She tried to push him out, but he insisted.

"What could you be busy with at 2:00 in the morning?" he looked up and saw Castle across the room in his sweaty t-shirt. "Is that?" he asked, squinting.

"Why hello there, Joshy." Castle greeted sarcastically.

"Castle, waddaya doing here? Did I mess up your face too much to go home?"

"Maybe, if you didn't hit like a girl my pride might be somewhat damaged, but since those aren't the circumstances, no, I seem to be just fine thank you."

"You sure talk too much, I'm thinking you trying to steal my Katie."

"And I'm thinking you weren't burdened with an overabundance of vocabulary or grammar like me, so why don't you do what's best for you and leave. Besides, even if I was trying to 'steal your Katie', she's not _your_ Kate anyways, you don't own her." He quipped, still standing across the room, "She's not anyone's property, of course she could probably tell you that a lot better than me. When you were together, noticed I said 'were' as in past tense, if anybody owned anybody it would've been her owning you."

"You wanna go, little man?"

"I would say 'yes', but I've just been trained by the finest and drunks are less cute after they've been beaten up."

Josh paused as if processing Castle's statement, "Why don't you get over here and we'll figure this out."

Castle looked over at Kate who immediately shook her head, but he had to disagree with her on this one. After a couple of seconds of debating in his head, he finally crossed the room, standing inches from Josh's face like he had done hours ago before he'd gotten the crap beaten out of him.

"You ever hear the expression 'playing with three'?" Josh challenged.

"Castle waited a beat, "Why, yes I have, I believe you're doing it right now."

Josh laughed and Castle fanned his hand around the surgeons face to dilute the smell.

"Gross! You smell even worse when you're drunk!"

"Castle..." Kate warned, holding her arm out just in case one of them snapped again.

"No, Kate," Josh assured, "Maybe after getting his ass kicked twice in one night, he'll learn."

"I don't want to fight you, Josh. I'm above that." Castle opposed proudly.

"This guy is a Grade A nut job!" He laughed, grabbing Kate's hand and tugging her out the door. "C'mon, Katie, let's get out of here."

"Josh, let go." She refused, trying to pull her arm out of his grasp although he persisted in taking her with him.

"You know you want me." he drooled drunkly.

"Let go!" she demanded.

Castle didn't know what came over him those next few seconds, but he had managed to get Josh's neck firmly into a headlock. She curled his hands in a fist and drove his knuckle's over the top of Josh's scalp. "Leave my work wife alone." he joked in a high pitched voice. To his surprise, in the corner of his eye, he saw Josh release Kate's hand so he did the same.

However, when Doctor Motorcycle Boy came back up, his face was hot and angry, "I'm gonna kill you for that." He growled, eyes intensifying.

"You have no idea how scared I am right now," Castle answered honesty, starting to fear. He tried desperately to remember what Kate had told him about sucker punches.

_Seduction._ She had said, _Look your opponent in the eye and offer some sort of distraction._ He remembered the face she had given him, that delicate look that made him forget entirely that they had been sparring. He tried to mirror her lips, her eyes, even the length of her hair had distracted him. And so, with an awkward feeling in his stomach, Castle made his eyes shut halfway like Kate had done and even managed to purse his lips in the flirtatious way he'd seen women do without laughing. Josh gave him a confused and disgusted look and it wasn't long before his guard, like Castle's had been, was down.

"BAM! said the lady!" Castle screamed, and in a fraction of a second he had made his move- causing Josh stagger back into the hallway. As if on cue, Kate slammed the apartment door in the surgeon's face.

The two were quiet a moment, waiting for Josh to try again, but the silence assured him that they'd won. Finally, they both pranced up in excitement, giving each other a loud and painful high five.

"That was awesome!" Castle squealed, "I told you I'd protect you!"

Kate laughed along, "Oh you should know by now that I don't need protecting, you even said so yourself."

"Are you kidding? He was practically forcing you out of your own apartment, if it wasn't for me you could've been in some serious trouble."

She gave him a side smile without showing her teeth and raised an eyebrow, "Who's to say I didn't put on a little Damsel in Distress act just to see how far you went?"

"Ah, a detective _and_ an actress, a secret identity just like Nikki." he chuckled, "So what now? More fighting practice?" he asked, holding his hands up in the defensive way she'd taught him.

She shook her head, "No, this deserves a celebration for my first successful student in ninja class. What would you say to ice cream?"

He squealed again, "I'd say that's a marvelous plan!"

She led him to the kitchen, opening the freezer.

"So what will ice cream lead to?" he asked as innocently as possible.

She didn't say a work, but just turned to him and gave him a look that said everything.

**THE END!**

**I hope you all liked it! Thanks for sticking with me on this story, it was fun to write! Oh and after the Countdown episode, I'm positive that Josh isn't as big of a jerk as I made him in this- but since I'd already made him kinda cocky, I thought I should just stick with it so please excuse the OOC.**

**Love you all and I hope you have a great day!  
Sarah **


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